JewishKids.org Gets a Boost, Goes Mobile, Making an Already Popular Site Even Better

Yaakov Lubin likes many things about JewishKids.org, but his favorite is how it keeps him connected.

“I read the parshah [Torah portion] of the week on the website,” he says, and during the Shabbat group for kids that he attends at his synagogue, “I can talk about it with my friends.”

The seventh-grader—in a special-education program at a public school in New York—spends time at home on the site with his father, Harris Lubin, reading articles, watching videos and learning about the Jewish holidays.

“It’s helpful because he can understand it very easily,” says Lubin, who lives in Forest Hills, N.Y., and teaches social studies. They have been incorporating JewishKids.org into their schedule for about four years now, he says, noting that his son and daughter-in-law in Houston also use the site frequently for their young children.

Recently, JewishKids.org got a major makeover. The changes have more than tripled traffic to the already popular site, which includes more than 2,000 pages of content, including 250 Jewish-themed children’s videos; more than 300 audio recordings and Jewish songs; more than 100 games and activities; and some 500 stories and educational and informative pages.

In addition, a new mobile version of the site has been launched, making the site even more accessible for those logging in via phones, tablets and other hand-held devices.

Changes in Stages

The site is being improved in many ways, starting with a new child- and adult-friendly homepage; a cleaner and more intuitive navigation system; an overall facelift improving the look and feel of the site; and the reorganization and restructuring of its vast amount of material.

These changes are being implemented in stages. They began with the new homepage, which offers a colorful, cartoon-like view of a city street, complete with animated buildings that present a choice of different activities for children. A more streamlined, adult-friendly navigation bar is included at the top of the screen, as well as an area to search for kid-friendly content.

It is a more user-friendly experience, allowing children and their parents to enter and navigate easily through the content-rich site, says Dini Druk, who directs JewishKids.org. “Much of our audience includes parents and teachers, and the mix of navigation and search functions make finding material easy for kids and grownups alike.”

A new mobile version of the site has been launched, making the site even more accessible for those logging in via phones, tablets and other hand-held devices.

Overall, she adds, the upgraded site offers a more efficient, educational and entertaining experience: “There’s loads of useful information—more than in most children’s sites, so no matter how much you find, there’s always more.”

Orah Soller, of London, England, teaches Jewish studies to children ages 6 to 11. A few years ago, a colleague told her about the website, and she has been using it enthusiastically ever since.

Soller likes the simple, clear way the site explains the parshah. Her students especially enjoy the videos, which she says they ask to see again and again. The site has been especially helpful, she adds, for one child with major behavioral issues, who is captivated by the sounds and images of the videos.

She took an informal poll in class, and the kids came up with the following replies. Bryce says: “I love watching the videos!” Abigail responds: “I love the games, videos and information!” Pnina notes: “I like the videos! Please make more?” And as for Eitan, “I like everything!”

“Kids are fascinated by it,” says Soller. “It’s an amazing tool for children. They’re learning without even realizing they are learning. It really helps teachers … It gives huge access to the Jewish world.”

The largest Jewish website of its kind, JewishKids.org was launched in 2005. Its goal was to engage Jewish children around the world, regardless of background or affiliation, as part of a global online community.

‘More in the Works’

Since the first changes were rolled out last year, the volume of traffic has tripled, now attracting more than 7,000 visits daily and more than 15,000 visitors a day during Jewish holiday seasons.

The site is a joint project of Chabad.org, the largest Jewish-content website; and Tzivos Hashem, a worldwide educational program that the Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory—initiated 33 years ago. As part of that program, children serve as G‑d’s representatives to bring light and goodness to the world by performing mitzvahs, explains Druk, who was a teacher for 10 years.

Essentially, JewishKids.org brings three decades worth of high-quality, well-respected printed, audio and visual materials to the Internet.

"My Tzivos Hashem" includes a "credit-card" system, whereby children can accrue points for doing mitzvahs (good deeds) and then trade the points for prizes.

Over the last five years, Tzivos Hashem has also implemented an incentive program for kids. It includes a “credit-card” system, whereby children can accrue points for doing mitzvahs (“good deeds”) and then trade the points for prizes. This taps into a child’s natural tendency to want to help others, and as they do more and more, they progress in their efforts and move up in rank.

The program is now in place for children affiliated with Chabad Houses in 25 cities, and is being integrated with the JewishKids.org website, where parents can log their children’s points.

“This helps make the website even more relevant and meaningful,” says the program’s creator, Shimmy Weinbaum.

Part of the website project included animating old cartoons from the program’s archives, explains Druk, bringing them back to life for a new generation of Jewish children. More and more content will be added, and updating will continue to be implemented for the inside pages.

“We have a lot more in the works,” says Rabbi Yerachmiel Benjaminson, executive director of Tzivos Hashem. “In the next few months, we hope to unveil additional content and useful features that will continue to inspire our young audience.”

Last fall the website hosted the annual “Jewish Kids Got Talent” competition, attracting 100,000 fans who actively followed the submissions at the various stages of the contest.

Rabbi Zalman Glick of Tzivos Hashem, and Rabbi Meir Simcha Kogan, managing director at Chabad.org have also helped to lead this ongoing project, along with their groups’ education and technology-development teams.

The technology team most recently launched a mobile version of the kids site using responsive html technology, ensuring that kids can continue to access and enjoy the site’s content and features from mobile devices. Mobile traffic now accounts for nearly a third of all Internet usage and continues to grow almost daily.

“We want to ensure that the website is technologically up-to-date,” says Glick, “so that our educational content continues to be accessible to the widest possible audience.”

Contest Attracts 100,000 People

Last fall, the website hosted the annual “Jewish Kids Got Talent” competition, attracting 100,000 fans who actively followed the submissions at the various stages of the contest.

“Every year—in terms of technology and the Internet—is a light year,” says Druk. “So many things have changed and advanced. Children have more access than ever to the Internet, and have become comfortable using tablets and mobile devices. For those reasons, it was important to bring the website up-to-date and make it more accessible for all.”

She says this is the only place online that offers such a depth and breadth of Jewish education for young people—education that includes Jewish background and history, stories, Torah, mitzvahs, what it means to be Jewish and so much more.

“There’s a big need for this, and we realize that,” stresses Druk. “People are seeing there’s more life and lift to the site, and because of that, they keep coming back.”